upstategrad update - suny upstate medical university · health & disease conference held july...
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constructive criticism
– mark e. schmitt, PhDDean, College of Graduate Studies
updatetransforming students from consumers of knowledge into producers of knowledge
upstategradaugust 2016
One of the tenants of graduate school and good mentoring is constructive criticism. It is this sometimes harsh feedback that helps us to grow, learn new things, identify potential problems before they arise and weed back projects that are not moving forward or are scientifically flawed. We can do some of this ourselves,
but receiving feedback from others – a different, objective opinion from another set of eyes – can provide a stark, unfiltered and unbiased assessment of the situation. It is this feedback that drives learning in graduate school and beyond. We all hate to receive that grant or manuscript review, but in the end it makes the science better and makes us better scientists. That being said, feedback should be honest and constructive; it should provide suggestions for improvement and be continual. It should also be positive and encouraging when the right thing is done or when previous feedback has led to a better output. In addition, the receiver
of the feedback needs to be receptive, responsive and willing to take ownership and responsibility for what they have done.
Unfortunately as of late, I feel faculty have tempered that feedback. They are afraid of being tagged as unprofessional or abusive when really they just care. On the other side the receiver sometimes passes the blame, considering the criticism worthless or inaccurate or the reviewer inept. Failure has become something we
avoid as opposed to something from which we learn a lesson. Life is a draft that is continually revised. The final version is never published until we are gone, so we need to work to continually improve and to help others to improve. Together we will all be better scientists and turn students into the best students we can.
publications
Affinity-controlled protein encapsulation into sub-30 nm telodendrimer nanocarriers by multivalent and synergistic interactions.WAng X, Shi C, Zhang L, Bodman A, guo D, WAng L, Hall WA, WiLkens s, Luo J.Biomaterials. 2016 Sep;101:258-71. doi: 10.1016/j.biomaterials.2016.06.006. Epub 2016 Jun 3.
tunable Lipidoid-telodendrimer Hybrid nanoparticles for intracellular Protein Delivery in Brain tumor treatment.WAng X, Bodman A, Shi C, guo D, WAng L, Luo J, Hall WA.Small. 2016 Aug;12(31):4185-92. doi: 10.1002/smll.201601234. Epub 2016 Jul 4.
corrigendum to “reactivating mutant p53 using small molecules as zinc metallochaperones: awakening a sleeping giant in cancer” [Drug Discov. today 20 (11) (2015) 1391-1397].BLAnDen Ar, Yu X, LoH sn, Levine AJ, Carpizo DR.Drug Discov Today. 2016 Jul 29. pii: S1359-6446(16)30262-8. doi: 10.1016/j.drudis.2016.07.012. [Epub ahead of print] No abstract available.
single dose primaquine in a preclinical model of g6PD deficiency: implications for use in malaria transmission blocking programs.WickHAm ks, Baresel PC, Marcsisin SR, Sousa J, Vuong CT, Reichard GA, Campo B, Tekwani BL, Walker LA, Rochford R.Antimicrob Agents Chemother. 2016 Jul 25. pii: AAC.00600-16. [Epub ahead of print]
sLc9A9 co-expression modules in autism-associated brain regions.PAtAk J, Hess JL, Zhang-James Y, gLAtt sJ, FArAone sv.Autism Res. 2016 Jul 21. doi: 10.1002/aur.1670. [Epub ahead of print]
A small-molecule inhibitor of sHiP1 reverses age- and diet-associated obesity and metabolic syndrome.srivAstAvA n, iyer s, suDAn r, Youngs C, Engelman RW, Howard KT, Russo CM, Chisholm JD, kerr Wg.JCI Insight. 2016 Jul 21;1(11). pii: e88544.
transcriptome-wide mega-analyses reveal joint dysregulation of immunologic genes and transcription regulators in brain and blood in schizophrenia.Hess JL, tyLee Ds, Barve R, de Jong S, Ophoff RA, Kumarasinghe N, Tooney P, Schall U, Gardiner E, Beveridge NJ, Scott RJ, Yasawardene S, Perera A, Mendis J, Carr V, Kelly B, Cairns M; Neurobehavioural Genetics Unit, Tsuang MT, gLAtt sJ.Schizophr Res. 2016 Jul 19. pii: S0920-9964(16)30322-X. doi: 10.1016/j.schres.2016.07.006. [Epub ahead of print]
Focal adhesions control cleavage furrow shape and spindle tilt during mitosis.Taneja N, Fenix AM, rAtHBun L, Millis BA, Tyska MJ, HeHnLy H, Burnette DT.Sci Rep. 2016 Jul 19;6:29846. doi: 10.1038/srep29846.
presentations
PAtrick sWeeney, a PhD Student in Neuroscience, presented at the Glia in Health & Disease Conference held July 21st through 25th at the Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory in Spring Harbor, NY. Patrick’s presentation was titled “Activation of Hypothalamic Astrocytes Reduces Feeding without Affecting Emotional States.”
Jie Peng, a PhD Student in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, presented at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Meeting on Yeast Chromosome Structure, Replication, and Segregation held July 31st through August 5th in Snowmass, CO. Jie’s presentation was titled “Incision of damaged DNA in the presence of an impaired Smc5/6 complex imperils genome stability.”
stuti sHArmA, a PhD Student in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, presented at the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology Meeting on Molecular Biophysics of Membranes held July 10th through 15th in Snowmass, CO. Stuti’s presentation was titled “Reconstitution of the vacular ATPase into organellar lipid containing nanodiscs: a new tool to understand the regulation of the enzyme.”
kAren HoWArD, an MD/PhD Student in Anatomy & Cell Biology, and ADAm BLAnDen, an MD/PhD Student in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, represented SUNY Upstate Medical University at the 31st Annual MD/PhD National Student Conference held July 15th through 17th in Keystone, CO. Adam’s presentation was titled “The p53 Zn2+-switch: How p53 structural lability is hijacked by cancer and a new class of drugs to fight it.” Karen’s presentation was titled “Polyethylene Debris Migration May Not Cause Loss of Cement-Bone Interlock in Well-Fixed TKAs.”
oLeseA coJoHAri and megAn PePPeneLLi, PhD Students in Microbiology & Immunology, presented at the 41st Annual International Herpesvirus Workshop held July 23rd through 27th in Madison, WI. Olesea’s presentation was titled “Human Cytomegalovirus Induces an Atypical Activation of Akt to Stimulate the Survival of Short-lived Monocytes.” Megan’s presentation was titled “HCMV Mediated Signaling Induces The Synthesis Of Select Akt-Dependent Antiapoptotic Proteins During Entry To Promote Survival Of Short-Lived Monocytes.” The Chan lab is pictured above while at the conference, from left: megAn PePPeneLLi, MD/PhD Student AAron ALtmAn, postdoc HeLen AuBurn, principle investigator Dr. gAry cHAn and oLeseA coJoHAri.
from our students
FAtoumAtA JoBe, a PhD student in Pharmacology, successfully defended her dissertation last month. Fatou’s dissertation advisor is Dr. Golam Mohi.
congratulations, Fatou!
DAksHesH PAteL, a PhD student in Pharmacology, successfully defended his dissertation last month. Dakshesh’s dissertation advisor is Dr. Richard Veenstra.
Dakshesh will be an Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education (ORISE) Fellow at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The Research Participation
Programs at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are managed by the Oak Ridge Institute for Science and Education under an interagency agreement
between FDA and the U.S. Department of Energy. congratulations, Dakshesh!
sHAoLin mei, an MS student in Physiology, successfully defended her thesis last month. Shaolin’s dissertation advisor is Dr. Wei-Dong Yao.
congratulations, shaolin!
JAcquALyn scHuLmAn, a PhD Student in Pharmacology, attended the first annual Global STEM Alliance Summit 2016, sponsored by the New York Academy of Sciences, held July 26th through 28th in New York City, NY. The summit was designed to “foster network creation and future collaboration by bringing students, mentors, and other GSA stakeholders together.” While at the summit, Jacqualyn, a mentor for the 1000 Girls, 1000 Futures program through the NYAS, was finally able to meet her mentee in person. Her mentee, Sophie Gribben, a 17 year old rising senior from Scotland, spent the summer at Strathclyde University in a space program - a NASA initiative to promote interest in STEM field. The NYAS sponsored Sophie’s trip to the summit and awarded her “Mentee of the Month” during the conference. Pictured above is Jacqualyn, at left, with her mentee Sophie, at right.
from our alumni
is tHere sometHing We misseD?? email Jennifer Brennan at [email protected] to get it included in the next issue!
We love hearing from you ... Drop by our website & let us know how you’re doing!
LAurA PrestiA, PhD has been busy! A few months ago, we told you she started a new position as a Tech Transfer Specialist for the National Cancer Institute Technology Transfer Center at the NIH. Well now she’s busy planning a wedding! Laura and her fiancee Patrick Crawford will be married October 14, 2017 at Barnes Barn in North Brookfield, NY. The couple was engaged in March 2015 and planned a long engagement since Pat is working full time as a Mechanical Engineer at Powercon Corporation while earning his MBA from University of Maryland University College. Pat is expected to complete his degree next year. The two currently reside in Rockville, MD. The couple met in 2010, while Laura was still a graduate student here. Laura earned her PhD from the Neuroscience Program in 2014. congratulations, Laura!
around campus
Twenty four students visited the Upstate campus on July 13th as part of the Summer Career Awareness Day, where they were given an exclusive glimpse into the College of Health Professions and the College of Graduate Studies. Students were welcomed by Dean of the College of Graduate Studies, Dr. Mark Schmitt, before they headed to the lab. Once there, Wayne Decatur, a lab tech in Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, demonstrated some lab techniques and gave the students a chance to perform a hands-on experiment in the lab. Students then toured the facilities here as well as some of the lab space in the Neuroscience Research Building. The morning session concluded with lunch where some of our current graduate students and one alumni joined the students and shared their first-hand experiences in graduate school and offered advice. Panelists included, from left: Gregory Goreczny (Anatomy & Cell Biology PhD student); Marissa Smith (Biochemistry & Molecular Biology PhD student); Laura Szczesniak (MD/PhD student); Matt Brady (Medical Technology Masters Program, College of Health Professions) and Aaron Glass (a graduate of Upstate’s Microbiology & Immunology PhD Program and the Medical Biotechnology Program and current Instructor of Microbiology & Immunology).
in other news
kevin kenDeres, a PhD Student in Microbiology & Immunology, married Rebecca Friemann on June 25th at Wolf Oak Acres in Oneida, NY.
Congratulations, newlyweds!
Laura Szczesniak, an MD/PhD Student, ran the Boilermaker on July 10th in her hometown. Her time was 75:50. This is her sixth time running the Boilermaker.
Laura was also featured in a recent article in Upstate Online and What’s Up at Upstate highlighting the Medical Spanish course taught here. Read more here: https://whatsupatupstate.wordpress.com/2016/06/30/in-
this-upstate-classroom-se-habla-espanol/
megAn griBBLe, a PhD Student in Microbiology & Immunology, married Christopher Lloyd on June 3rd at Emerson State Park in Auburn, NY.
Congratulations, newlyweds!
An image captured by Agnik Dasgupta, a PhD Student in Anatomy & Cell Biology, using a spinning disk confocal microscope in the lab of Dr. Jeffrey Amack, Associate Professor of Cell & Developmental Biology, was featured on the back cover of Upstate Health Summer 2016.
is tHere sometHing We misseD?? email Jennifer Brennan at [email protected] to get it included in the next issue!
AFternoon teA | every Wednesday at 3:00 | WH 3120 or nrB 3708* | *First Wednesday of the month, tea is at the nrB.
upcoming events & save the dates!
Introduction to Adobe Illustrator & Photoshop for ScientistsMark Schmitt Dean, College of Graduate Studies, Upstate Medical UniversityHave questions about using Adobe Illustrator or Photoshop to prepare graphs, illustrations or posters? Join us as Dr. Schmitt gives an introductory overview of the best uses and functions of these programs to help make your life a little easier. Come with your questions!
August 31, 2016 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM | Setnor 3507/08
Beyond the PhD: Career Opportunities in Pathology Antony Shrimpton, Connie Stein, Kazim Chohan, & Scott Riddell Pathology, Upstate Medical UniversityWhat can you be with your PhD? Ever considered a career in Pathology? Meet a panel of our Pathology lab directors in molecular genetics, cytogenetics, andrology, and microbiology - all of whom, earned a PhD degree. Find out what a typical day is like for them and how they got into the field. Bring your questions!
September 7, 2016 | 12:00 - 1:00 PM | Weiskotten Hall 103
Welcome Reception for New Graduate Students Join us as we welcome our first-year graduate students to Upstate and kick off the start of a new academic year! All students, postdocs, faculty and staff are invited to attend! Light hors d’oeuvres and dessert will be served.
August 30, 2016 | 3:00 - 5:00 PM | Setnor Atrium
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
CAREER DEVELOPMENT
BiomedicaL ScienceS RetReat
Thursday, September 15, 2016 | 8:00 AM - 6:00 PM | The Lodge at Welch Allyn
A day-long event, sponsored by the College of Graduate Studies.
DISCOVER research happening around you. CONNECT with colleagues.MEET our new faculty and incoming class of graduate students.
Registrants are eligible to submit an abstract and present a poster. Space is limited. Graduate Student, first authored, abstracts have priority and are eligible for award.
August 24: Deadline to submit an abstractAugust 31: Deadline to register
Register Online: www.upstate.edu/grad/retreat
Contact: Jennifer Brennan, 464-4543, [email protected]